ronald reagan's perspective has dominated republicans' thoughts on this matter for years. >> we have a different approach, the president and i, between a government-dominated society and a society driven by free people pursuing their dreams. >> reporter: romney insists the federal government should be smaller and less intrusive in terms of regulations and taxes and largely it should keep out of the free market. >> i line up with a smaller government, a less intrusive government, regulations being pared back. >> such views on both sides of course can make a difference. but here is the catch. for the past century, with a few exceptions, the government has been expanding no matter which party has held the white house. more cabinet positions, more agencies, more spending per citizen and much of that is driven by things like we menged at the start. population growth, economic trends and entitlements, meaning the question is probably not whether the government will keep growing under mr. obama or mr. romney, but rather how fast. tom foreman, cnn, washington. >>> child sex trafficking, thos